Last week, the State deployed Kenya Coast Guards to help fight illegal fishing activities in Lake Naivasha.
Ever wondered why fishing plants are in Thika and not Kisumu or even Lodwar which are the key regions that produce and over supplier Kenya with fish?
Individuals in the government are key to make the mountainside a hub for everything even though the region is culturally born not eating the fish or most water-bred eatables.
Do you know any fish that comes from Lake Naivasha? If you know, then you understand that nobody wants to eat those masked bone-filled ‘pirranas’ from the dry lake.
Deputy county commissioner Kisilu Mutua confirmed the arrival of the elite squad after months of running battles between police and illegal fishermen.
Which illegal fishermen and where do they sell their products? The Thika fish production firm?
According to the State, legitimate fish operators have been losing business due to illegal activities. The illegal groups, according to Mr Mutua, were being bankrolled by unscrupulous traders.
“Legal fishermen were finding it difficult to operate due to the illegal activities by poachers,” he added.
Some of the fishermen have abandoned the trade due to the increasing cases of theft with one of them saying he lost fishing nets worth more than Sh200,000.
Fishing activities have come under sharp scrutiny from researchers, with some warning that the industry might not be sustainable in future owing to several factors, including over-fishing.
George Morara, a researcher at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), had called for strict controls to curb fishing on breeding grounds such as the Crescent Island, Oserian bay, Korongo bay and Malewa River mouth.
“The spawning stock is also being harvested as well as juvenile fish by some unscrupulous fishermen who cast their net in the breeding areas,” stated the researcher.
Mid-last year, there was a report that the Chinese military with the help of Kenya coast guards were fishing with explosives in Lamu.
Earlier this year, and as it has been reported for the previous years, the Ugandan military uses explosives to fish in Migingo Island.
Kenyan fishermen have also been subjected to corporal punishment by Ugandan forces in Migingo Island and one wonders, do we really need KCG on Lake Naivasha? Why aren’t they at Migingo like their Ugandan counterparts?
Crocodiles and armed bandits are also terrorising fishermen in Lake Turkana and less is being done to protect them. Do we have KCG on Lake Turkana?
So, what makes Lake Naivasha highly recommend and prioritised for ‘protection?
Are we living in a country where taxpayers will be coughing out taxes in the name of paying salary to security personnel and Kenya coast Guards that are guarding crabs and frogs?
